Top 10 Major Disadvantages of Online Shopping

You’ve been reading these emails every second minute in your mail inbox, but does it hurt to know that the discount only for you is also only for millions or maybe a billion other people? Online shopping has spread like a viral bug, perhaps more since the antivirus prevention is scarce. Online shopping is convenient? You think so too? Oh God! Kill me! Where have the good old days of retail therapy disappeared? The only therapy or rather treatment I believe I’d have to have after online shopping is probably vision treatment. I mean come on. Retail therapy- doesn’t it ring a bell?

Alright, Online shopping might not be all cons and no pros but neither vice versa. You’ve got arguments? I have all the time too, but I bet you’ll rest your arguments or at least not raise them on parameters I enlist as cons. And trust me there are many. So, say bye to the major disadvantages of online shopping and return to the good old shopping mall days or the ‘I am at the market place days’ you won’t quite miss the shopping bit I bet.

10. Internet woes, Hidden Costs

Alright, they say online shopping comes free, right up to your doorstep, but does it? I have my doubts. Most online shopping websites are picture heavy, and you know what that means? It means consuming all the data in the world, quite literally. So all those people who have not subscribed to unlimited data or internet packages will incur heavy charges on their online shopping. Now those are sure to be much more than what will cover your travelling costs. Or maybe you’re in a mood to make your service provider richer. Great idea then. I wish I was your Internet Service Provider.

9. The Real Hidden Costs- Shipping charges

Alright so luck just went that right that you stumbled across a product on an e-commerce site that had made you make numerous trips to the mall but to no fruitful use? Great. You might as well order it online, even if it’s a brand you don’t get in your city, or country. Oh yes. You’ll get that product alright but you might end up paying more for the shipping than the product is worth. And what happens in events like these? You end up not enjoying your product as much for that pricking conscience for the shipping cost remains. Trust me, I hardly ever use my Michael Kors Tote Bag which was ordered online for the shipping and custom costs I paid made the bag worth a Louis Vuitton.

8. No bargaining *sobs* NO BARGAINING

Oh yes you needn’t be a genius to read that, it ain’t no rocket science. I am well aware of the fact that a majority of products we but today are branded products with fixed prices and almost no bargains but then that quest for something extra never dies, and if you’re regular to the store you often end up reaping not just membership and loyality benefits but those due on staff favouritism too. I have ended up with a lot of free gifts with my purchases with no official schemes…So cash or like, bargaining is bargaining, and if you don’t bargain- you don’t bargain and that’s worse than not having an iphone. Trust me. Specially for a android lover.

7. Reality fades: Why aren’t you tangible?

So technology might have made it almost possible for man to intervene in the solar orbit (I hope I am not making up my own astronomy but it’s sad how touching the screen would never be the same as touching the real product per se. for gadgets I believe itsperhaps the worst thing to do for the dimensions, structure, brightness et all, whatever be the specifications are more subjective and dependent on personal preferences. But personally for me, I’d hate buying clothes- specially winter ones without feeling the texture. Would you?

6. Screen time overloaded- Partying trashed

Oh! So you’ve despised the scientist type of people all your life, more so the workaholic bunch who’d rather work than party? Not that you’d be working, but shopping online is so much like it. Its more like fulfilling a responsibility. No more surprise visits to the mall with friends and family, hanging out, spending all your money on the food and then asking dad for fund transfers. Alright, I am going far-fetched. But what exact fun would you make of shopping minus the hanging out with people who make the most damned moments worthwhile. That’s like the only reason I love to go shopping at all.

5. Terms and conditions and more of them

Oh yes you’ve been lured by the advertisements which say they’d take back products even if you’ve kept them with you for almost forever but their refund policies suck. Pardon me for the colloquial usage of vocabulary but e-commerce ventures I have stumbled upon leave me with little choice. They’ve got you to make more formalities to send back their product and receive your refund than you would in selling your land property and receive the funds. It’s that tough. They’d require you to sign what not documents and they’d probably let the product lie around till you finally decide that you’d use it as trash. And there are more terms and conditions too.

4. No sales assistant, No sales assistance

So it’s like you’re left in the middle of a forest where there are thousands of ways but just one’s correct. I agree that at events so many sales assistants are downright irritating and you keep finding ways to turn them down but it’s when you do not have them that you need them most. You might have friends to choose for you but none to suggest what’s hot and what’s not. For lingerie sales specially, most often than not people end up making the wrong choices (I won’t blame them though, not in hell will you find corsets with descriptions or a clear distinguishing with under-wires from non wired). That said, you won’t even have people to suggest you the most amazing stuff, yeah you’d save money, but you miss out on amazing stuff too.

3. I’ll be right here waiting for you

Richard Marx rose to fame with this, you’d probably dose to sleep each night wondering when finally would it so happen that your parcel will arrive. They give you shipping details but the courier services seem to have an entire round of playing passing the parcel before that most awaited package finally reaches you. A personal advice, never order medicines online, you’d probably receive them after you’re hospitalized.

2. Credit card hoaxes, Multiple transactions

Alright, so it is though not a con focussed only on online shopping but for online shopping a major con is often misuse of credit card details and years of spending time, money and energy tracing with the cyber crime cell what exactly happened. Need to remain safer? Stay away from online shopping… It causes something I’d call virtual pickpocketing. Also, God forbid your internet go slow, you might end up paying twice. If its alright with you. Who minds?

1. Don’t judge a book by its cover

I elaborate time and again on that, don’t dare judge the product by its picture. They’ve been fooling you to join the bandwagon of all those luxury hotels which the pictures make believe have rooms larger than 500 square feet while they’d probably just cramp you in less than half. I ordered a sequined blazer, and I kept searching for the sequins. That and the size charts are as wrong as they would be in an export surplus market, trust me on it. Plus they’d never do the alterations if needed. So don’t you think the trip to the mall was a better idea? Maybe I can accompany you there.